“The dilemmas acted out by the intensely lovable Hana/Mark/Hana are the archetypal stuff of myth: what is true femininity and masculinity versus their shadow versions? And what if , at their most powerful, the feminine and the masculine are one, just as at their most trivialized, they are opposites?”

“I couldn’t put it down. Dones’s ability to tell a politically and psychically complex story with such lightness of touch is down to her flowing, spring-clear prose and slyly subversive vision.” (Kapka Kassabova, The Guardian)

“Subtle and provocative.” (Helen Brown, Sunday Telegraph)

“Deft and lively […] Dones writes in a clean and breezy style, raising sly questions about culture, art, and, especially, gender. Her novel is provocative without being confrontational.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Artfully written by one of Albania’s most distinguished authors, Sworn Virgin is a story that resonates far beyond one country’s borders.” (Elizabeth Millard, Foreword Reviews)

I couldn’t put it down. I’m really glad I came across this little gem. (Marie Cloutier – The Boston Bibliophile)

“Beautifully written… an incredibly engrossing read, telling a story that is both engaging and transcendent.” (Beth Mellow, Bookslut)

“The latest hidden gem uncovered by this publisher … There is more to the book than the unearthing of a remarkable tradition: Dones’ characters are vibrant and her portrait of life in the mountains and in Tirana, the capital, is vivid … Clarissa Botsford’s translation (from the Italian – Dones writes in Albanian and Italian) is elegant and sensitive.” (Jethro Soutar, The Independent)

“An engaging and absorbing novel that gives both an emotional experience and a good deal to think about.” (Emerald Street)

“The final sentence makes you want to jump up and cheer.” (Susan Osborne – Shiny New Books)

“A fascinating study in duality and blurred identity… A brave book which tackles big themes such as tradition and modernity, exile and belonging while never losing sight of the individual faced with life choices that are constantly opening up certain freedoms while closing the door on others.” (New Internationalist)

“Important notice: Elvira Dones’ Sworn Virgin (tr. Clarissa Botsford) is one of those books that once you stop reading you just can’t put it down […] Of all the books I’ve read for Women In Translation Month so far, there’s no doubt in my mind that Sworn Virgin is the most thought-provoking … Sworn Virgin emerges as a wholly fascinating account of gender roles … completely worth reading.’ (Meytal – Bibliobio)

“As entertaining as it is educational, Sworn Virgin takes readers on a fascinating journey into the heart of a seldom-explored set of strict traditions that are designed to allow for complete male domination. Dones handles the subject matter with grace, thoughtfully probing at larger questions of gender equality and familial obligation, and ultimately succeeds by never allowing her subject to see herself as a helpless victim of circumstance.” (Typographical Era)

“A gripping, metamorphic tale. The themes of culture, gender, identity and family are explored with real understanding and piercing authenticity in this tender and arrestingly original novel.” (Whichbook)

“A fascinating look at the tradition of sworn virgins in Albanian culture, a moving meditation on gender, identity, loyalty and family ties, and a cracking good story – all at the same time! Wonderful stuff.” (WoodsieGirlWrites)

‘Keen observations on the performance of gender, as well as a good deal of humor […] The interactions between cousins, at times tender and loving, at times cantankerous and fraught with misunderstandings, give this novel great momentum and allow the characters to fully come alive on the page.’ (Bitch Magazine)

“That a novel covering such weighty issues as communism, patriarchal oppression, sexual violence, immigration and gender identity manages to be so warm and enjoyable is a huge achievement… Apparently Dones is a popular and distinguished author in Albania. I really hope that means more of her work gets translated into English.” (Kate Gardner – Nose in a Book)

“Sworn Virgin was made to be translated…. It feels like Sworn Virgin was always intended to end up in English, that Hana is finally at home in the language she has always wanted to master…. Dones’ strangely unemotional rendition of a story of suffering works not only because we feel for her protagonist; it works because we feel the stories of other sworn virgins, of other oppressed women, of other “belle ragazze” whose lives have been derailed, whose language has been invaded. It works because Dones wrote this book in Italian, in the language of a nation that has systematically abused her own, and because Hana has emerged not intact (exactly notintact) but ready to live. (Caite Dolan-Leach – The Quarterly Conversation)

“Elvira Dones‘s engaging novel, Sworn Virgin (translated from Italian by Clarissa Botsford and regrettably the only Dones novel available in English), not only unpacks these fascinating gender questions, but transplants the issue between two nations. […] We are left with the consoling thought that no matter how traditional or boundary-breaking one’s temperament is, you can’t stop body and soul from expressing very specific desires on being alive.” (Ed Champion – Reluctant Habits)

“Fascinating reading. The word pictures of people and of those repressive climates; dictatorship, rural isolation and patriarchy; that condition them are set out in very compelling prose. If you have never been to rural Albania, reading this novel will transport you there and bring you back again safely. It would be well worth the journey.” (Michael Johnston – Akanos)

“Ms. Dones has a gift for slowly opening up her characters … Sworn Virgin is a fascinating novel, and highly recommended.” (Carolyn Oliver – Rosemary and Reading Glasses)

“Sworn Virgin is a punchy and poetic novel, which takes the reader into what is likely to be a totally unfamiliar world and makes it vivid and engaging.” (Thom Cuell – The Workshy Fop)

“Dones style is pared back and clean, letting the emotional honesty at the heart of our protagonists’ story shine through.” (Marie Claire Conlin – For Books’ Sake)

‘Elvira Dones deals with issues at the heart of western civilisation today, such as migrant and gender identity, and the tormented relationships we may have with our bodies.’ (Liliana Moro –www.universitadelledonne.it)